Nowhere to Return
Her name was Dana.
As we made our way back to the mountain stronghold, cold sweat drenched me the entire journey. Three others besides myself rode in the cargo hold, and while they chatted idly, I sat tucked in the corner with my back to the woman, nerves frayed from constant anxiety. Whether she understood my intent or not, she remained mercifully silent and still. We reached the stronghold without incident.
The wagon came to a halt before the 15th Squad’s barracks as darkness settled. I spoke up at once. “You’ve all worked hard. I’ll handle sorting the spoils myself, so the 6th Squad can head inside and rest.”
“Much appreciated!”
“Good work~ Time for a drink~”
“I’m off to play with that Jessica girl.”
“It’ll take a while doing it alone. You sure you’re fine?”
When the 6th Squad leader asked if I really meant it, I smiled and replied, “It’s nothing new. I’ll be done in no time.”
Handling the spoils fell to our 15th Squad. We sold what could be sold at the market, passed suitable items to other squads, and stored the rest in the warehouse. All we had to do was compile a list of today’s haul and report it to the 2nd Squad, which managed the ledgers.
“Got it. We’re heading off. See you tomorrow.”
“Yes.”
The 6th Squad members stretched their stiff necks and walked back to their own barracks.
“Whew.” Only then did I let out a sigh of relief.
“Was this the right call?”
Ha. What exactly was I trying to do? I felt more tense than when I had fought Chen’s men earlier that day. Letting out a small breath, I looked toward our barracks. The light inside was bright—Marcus was there.
“What’s done is done.”
I steadied myself and stepped inside. After waking Marcus, who had been asleep since early evening, and reporting our return, I came back out. Then I took the reins of the wagon. With Phelton and Harry gone, I had shouldered most of the work and learned to drive first. I wasn’t skilled, but it was enough to get around.
“Whoa, whoa.”
I parked the wagon in front of a dark, deserted warehouse, climbed into the cargo hold, and pulled the blanket away from the corner where the woman lay. Her eyes met mine as she slowly lifted her head. She must have been exhausted from holding still the whole way, yet her gaze remained calm and steady, showing no sign of fatigue. Though she said nothing, it felt as if she were telling me, I’m not afraid of you. But I wonder what you’re planning.
“Must have been uncomfortable, curled up like that.”
I carefully removed the gag from her mouth and spoke gently, waiting for a reply. But the woman with the pale, fist-sized face simply stared at me in silence. Was she mute? Her face really was beautiful, though—innocence and sensuality coexisting in perfect balance. She rivaled the female knight from before. Why were women in this world all so stunning? Maybe my standards on Earth had just been too low. Either way, both that knight and this woman ranked among the most beautiful I had ever seen in my life. If they had been born on Earth, Hollywood’s top-tier actress roles would have been theirs for the taking.
“First of all, I have no intention of harming you, so relax. If you stay quiet, I’ll find a chance to let you out tomorrow.”
Still no answer. If she wasn’t going to speak, the least she could do was nod to show she understood, but not even an eyebrow twitched. She simply gazed at me. What was with this woman? Had someone put a beast’s soul into a human body? Her silence made me uneasy—I couldn’t read her at all. Without conversation or shared understanding, trust was impossible.
Instead of untying the ropes binding her, I fetched shackles from the warehouse and fastened them around her ankles.
“Mm?”
Once the shackles were on, something felt off. The usual plain maid outfit with its loose skirt had been replaced by a more provocative, ornate one, and now shackles adorned her legs. Combined with the black stockings highlighting her slender calves, the sight was strangely striking. Add a whip in my hand and it would make for quite the picture.
I glanced at her expression. She showed no anger or fear at being shackled—just the same blank look she had worn all along. Those empty eyes stayed fixed on me. What on earth was she thinking? Surely I hadn’t brought a witch back with me.
“What’s your name?”
I waited for those cherry-red lips to part, but she remained silent. Maybe she didn’t understand the language.
“Just stay here quietly while I sort the goods in the warehouse.”
I gathered firewood, lit a bonfire in front of the warehouse, and began organizing the items alone. Recording everything in the ledger, hauling goods with grunts of effort, and occasionally checking on the woman made the time pass quickly. Only when the cargo hold held nothing but her did I finally catch my breath, perching on a nearby rock to wipe the sweat from my brow.
Working alone was brutal. Still, one good thing had come of it—my stamina had improved greatly. My muscles had grown noticeably lately. Laborer’s muscles.
“Now what?”
I had considered bringing her back to our barracks, but that would drag Marcus into this mess. I could already picture the old man flying into a rage. More than anything, I didn’t want to cause trouble for others. So I decided to handle it alone.
Leaving her behind, I returned to the barracks and told Marcus I had too much work and would be up until dawn. Then I headed back to the warehouse where the wagon waited. Climbing into the cargo hold, I sat beside the woman, who had been sitting wrapped in a blanket. She opened her eyes at the sound of my approach. Half-lidded with sleep, she looked at me. She didn’t seem afraid. Kelly had cried the whole time, but this woman neither wept nor showed anxiety. The more I saw, the more remarkable she seemed.
“Go to sleep. I came to rest too.”
At my words, she closed her eyes again and tried to sleep. I watched her quietly for a moment. Even asleep, she was beautiful. It was hard to look away. Huh? She had closed her eyes when I told her to sleep—that meant she understood what I was saying, didn’t it? I wanted to wake her and keep talking, but I let it go. Whatever. I pulled the blanket up to my chin. She was someone I would part ways with soon anyway. No point in getting to know her. With that thought, I closed my eyes.
The world was bathed in bluish dawn light. The reason I could say this woman was truly lucky was because our squad had been assigned latrine duty this week. I was probably the first Korean in this world to scoop dung. Rising early, I shoveled waste into the barrels with a ladle, loaded over ten barrels onto the dung cart with both shoulders, then wrapped the woman tightly in a blanket and placed her among the barrels before driving the cart toward the stronghold’s entrance.
“Taking out the dung.”
“Ugh.”
The two guards at the gate pinched their noses and waved me off without coming closer. This came from your bodies, you idiots. They didn’t even glance at the cargo hold. It was still dark at dawn, so they couldn’t see much anyway. We passed through the gates without trouble.
I had done everything I could. The rest was up to her—to find her own life again. When we reached the foot of the mountain, I removed her shackles and helped her down from the cart.
“Follow this road and you’ll find a village. It’ll take about half a day on foot.”
“……”
I had expected a moment of gratitude, but she gave no reaction. She simply stared at me with that same expressionless face. Was she not even happy to have escaped? She really was a dull woman.
“Well then, go on. I should be going too.”
Resigned to never hearing her voice, I climbed onto the driver’s seat. Just as I was about to pull the reins and head off to dump the dung, she suddenly climbed onto the passenger seat. Had she lost her mind?
“What are you doing?”
When I asked in disbelief, she simply sat there, staring blankly back at me.
“Get down. You’re free now. Go home.”
Why was she acting like this? When she showed no sign of moving, I got off the cart and went around to the passenger side. I grabbed her arm and tried to pull her down, but she wouldn’t budge. Was this some kind of resistance tactic? How could a woman be this strong? I kept tugging, but she didn’t move an inch.
“You’ll be in serious trouble if you stay on this cart. Go home.”
I tried irritation, then anger. She continued her silent resistance. Physical contact felt awkward, but I had no choice. I wrapped my arms around her slender waist and tried to lift her—lifted, tried to lift—but she was like a boulder, unmoving. It wasn’t like she had glue on her rear. What was going on?
Rubbing my chin, I thought it over and reached a conclusion. Magic, perhaps? That could be it. She was using magic to stay rooted in place. If so, the only option left was persuasion.
“This isn’t the time. If the bandits find you, it’ll be dangerous. Your life will be ruined. I’ll be in a tight spot too. Run away, quickly. Please?”
My eyes burned as I urged her for an answer. There was so much work to do, and every second wasted here was precious. She gazed at my face in silence for a long moment before finally opening her mouth.
“…Nowhere to go back to.”